Chapter 9

Perception

Sensory information being interpreted in the brain

Perceptual distortion

An inconsistency between a perceptual experience and physical reality

Visual illusion

A misperception of external visual stimuli that occurs as a result of a distortion or mistake interpreting the stimuli

Spinning-Dancer illusion

Demonstrates the lack of depth cues to distinguish between the front and back of the silhouette, allowing it to be perceived from either of two perspectives

Müller-Lyer illusion

A visual illusion where one of two lines of equal length is perceived as longer due to the shape of the ends, with the 'feather tail' line appearing longer than the 'arrow head' line

Carpentered World Theory

Suggests that our perception of lines is influenced by our experience with corners and angles in a three-dimensional world

Perceptual compromise

Conflicting visual cues cause the brain to weigh contradictory information before settling on the most logical interpretation.

Ames room illusion?

People appear smaller or larger depending on their position in a uniquely constructed room, which distorts depth perception.

Apparent Distance theory

When two retinal images are the same size but one appears further away, the one that appears further away will be interpreted as larger

Agnosia

The loss or impairment of the ability to recognise and identify objects, persons, sounds, or other sensory stimuli despite having normally functioning senses

Apperceptive visual agnosia

An inability to accurately perceive visually presented stimuli, meaning what is seen cannot be recognised

Associative visual agnosia?

The inability to associate a visual stimulus with stored information about objects in memory, despite having normal perceptual abilities

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia is an inability to recognise familiar faces, including one's own, when seen in a mirror or photograph

Simultanagnosia

Inability to recognise more than one object at a time in a scene that contains multiple objects

Topographical agnosia

Inability to find one's way around familiar environments

Colour agnosia

Inability to identify and distinguish between different colours, despite having normal basic colour vision

Agnosic alexia?

Agnosic alexia is an inability to recognize or comprehend written or printed words

Synaesthesia

Perceptual experience where stimulation of one sense produces additional sensations in another

Spatial neglect

A neurological disorder where individuals fail to notice anything on one side of their world, despite having no sensory loss

Causes of spatial neglect

Commonly observed in stroke or accident victims with extensive injury to the cerebral cortex in the right parietal lobe.

Ames room theories

Past experience, Apparent distance theory, Perceived shape